Founder of GOME sentenced to 14 years

Huang Guangyu, founder of electronics retail chain GOME, was sentenced to 14 years in jail on Tuesday for bribery, insider trading and illegal business dealings, state media reported. Huang was also fined US$88 million and had his property confiscated. Huang rose from poverty in Guangdong province to achieve a net worth of US$6.3 billion, earning him the title of China’s richest man in 2008. Despite GOME’s efforts to move past Huang’s illegal dealings, including appointing a new chairman and selling a stake to American private equity firm Bain Capital in June 2009, Huang still holds shares with a total value of approximately US$1.9 billion.